House of Cards
by Diva-esque
Summary: Everything Yuki does is magic, whether he likes it or not. TouyaYukito.


** House of Cards**

_by __aishuu_

Note: Touya/Yukito, PG-13 or so. Thanks to fujis and sophiap for their input on this.

* * *

Touya teaches Yukito how to play poker. It's a move he sometimes regrets, especially during their class' final field trip in their senior year. 

Their class has elected to go to Hiroshima to visit the Peace Park, which means a somewhat long train ride. Touya likes trains as a form of travel, but being crammed into one car with his entire class is enough to make him consider homicide. Yukito is the only one he can stand to have in his personal space, but the girls don't appear to understand.

With Yukito sitting in the aisle seat, blocking people from annoying him, it's not horrible, but everyone else is giddy with anticipation of graduation. They're speaking loudly, and someone brought rubber bands, which starts a rather intense fight as the boys shoot them through the air. The girls are shrieking in mock indignation, and Touya quickly gains a headache. Some of the boys – the ones who Touya defeated in athletic and academic pursuits for his entire school career – challenge him to participate, but he's not in the mood.

The chaperons ignore most of the commotion, apparently deciding that it could be worse. Touya tries to get them to leave him alone, but they're high on sugar and senior fever, and won't back down. In desperation, Touya produces a pack of cards, intended to play solitaire to send a message that he has better things to do. Somehow it turns into a game of poker, with five people playing.

They play for candy, and it doesn't take long for Yukito to amass most of the "wealth." A pile of gummis and pocky sticks sit in front of him, and he cheerfully accepts a couple of playful barbs about his skill. There's times he isn't aware of the value of his cards, and he never plays the odds or bluffs – but he doesn't need to.

Yukito is lousy at poker, technically speaking. He has a non-existent poker face, Touya thinks. He always smiles when he has a good hand, which means he's been smiling the whole match. It's lucky they aren't playing for money, because people would get angry then. Yukito is always so delighted with more sweets, and it's a pleasure to watch him smile and hear his laughter.

The cards seem to like Yukito. Whatever he needs is always the next card drawn. It doesn't matter who deals. Yukito only deals twice, and each time Touya has to remind himself not to stare so blatantly. He never taught Yukito how to shuffle. It was instinctive for him. His elegant white hands maneuver the cards easily, with dexterity that seems supernatural. The cards dance through his fingers as he handles them with the expertise of an experienced magician.

The game starts to defy the laws of probability. By the time Yukito plays his third royal flush in a row, they've attracted a bigger audience. The class breaks into a rush of conversation, and Yukito blushes with embarrassment as he collects his winnings.

"Do you count cards or something?" Umida Kaneko, their female class representative, asks. She's not involved in the game, but she's known for being a stickler for the rules. She's the only one who would think to accuse Yukito of cheating, because no one else would even consider the possibility. Yukito's honesty is as famous as Touya's unwillingness to date.

"No," Yukito says, wearing an expression of surprise on his face. Counting cards isn't illegal, but it's considered unethical.

"You count cards in blackjack," Touya says. "It doesn't work for poker."

"Show us what's up your sleeves, then, Tsukishirou-kun!" Kaneko replies, winking. All of the boys are wearing short-sleeved shirts. "Maybe you should take your shirt off!"

There are catcalls of agreement from almost every girl, and a couple of the boys seem willing to encourage it. Yukito's turning the color of a tomato, and Touya decides to step in.

"He's not taking his shirt off," Touya said in an hard voice, the one that offers no room for compromise. It has the same effect dousing everyone in ice water would – unnatural silence falls, and uneasiness starts to take root.

"How do you do it, then?" Nagoya Ryu demands, the first to reclaim his courage. He's been agreeable about his losing most of his snacks – it's impossible to get angry with Yukito – but he has been getting frustrated.

"I don't know?" Yukito responds, turning his head to look at Touya for a suggestion.

"Affinity," Touya says, telling the painful truth with a shrug of his shoulders. "Some people are like that."

"Maybe I should just deal?" Yukito suggests, ever the peacemaker.

The suggestion is accepted, and Touya uses the opportunity to withdraw himself from the game. He spends the rest of the ride staring out the window, thinking about Yukito. Beside him, Yukito laughs and plays, but there's something restrained in his smile.

When they arrive at the hotel they're assigned to share the same room, a small place little larger than a closet with a double bed. It has its own, small bathroom, and Touya is satisfied since it's clean. It's natural for them to be together, and no one thinks anything untoward. All the others have similar arrangements, and most have jockeyed to be with their best friend.

Luckily the first night isn't heavily scheduled. The next day they will take a ferry to Miyajima and tour the shrine there. Their chaperons have suggested they get to bed at a reasonable hour, but most of the students plan on staying up late and exploring the hotel. Yukito and Touya make the obligatory appearance at the pool, then retreat early, claiming fatigue.

It's a reasonable excuse, since both of them experienced fainting incidents earlier in the year. Touya's just starting to get over the effects of giving Yue his power, but it's not exhaustion that's sending them to bed. Touya is practically shaking with anticipation.

They take turns in the shower, and the silence between them is rife with electricity. It's rare they get time alone together, to indulge in each other's company. They've been lovers for a month, but they've never spent the night together. Touya doesn't want Sakura to walk in on them, and he feels uncomfortable in Yukito's home due to the falseness of the surroundings. Their few sexual encounters have been thrilling, but Touya wants to wake up with Yukito in his arms. That will be the highlight of this trip.

Yukito, though, seems curiously drawn. His smile faded as soon as they were alone, and Touya wonders if the card incident has bothered him. Yukito has only known about Yue for a short time, and he's been making some adjustments. Touya knows Yukito still hasn't fully grasped what being a "false form" meant.

Finally they are both in sleeping yukatas, and Touya sits down on the bed. Yukito isn't smiling – and that's fine with Touya. He'd rather see his friend's real face, because that means Yukito trusts him enough not to put up a facade. When they were together, they can be their real selves.

"Yuki?" he says, and their rapport is such that Yukito immediately understands the question.

"Do you think I was cheating? I mean, I could have been cheating without knowing," Yukito replies. He bites his lip, and Touya just wants to cuddle him. His teenage libido encourages him to try to distract Yukito, but his mind wins the battle. Yukito needs to work through these issues.

"How could you cheat without knowing?" Touya asks instead.

Yukito moves over to the window, staring up at the sky. It's overcast, and no moon is visible, but he still gives the impression that he's standing in moonlight. "My other self is magical. Maybe I use magic without realizing," Yukito replies.

"So every time you score a goal, or hit the bullseye, you're using magic?" Touya asked, extending the logic.

"Maybe." Yukito presses a hand against the window, not looking at Touya. "How much of what I do is really me, and how much is him?"

"I don't know." Touya thinks on the issue for a moment, although he already spent most of the train ride considering it. "We're all born with special abilities, special aptitudes. It doesn't always seem fair, but we can't choose what we're going to be good at. Take Tomoyo-chan. She was born with that beautiful voice, and will always be a soloist. Your magic is just part of who you are."

"How do I know if I'm working magic?" Yukito asks. "I don't want to have an unfair advantage."

"To me, everything you do is magic," Touya says. Yukito turns, looking slightly afraid, but Touya's next words allay his fears. Touya's never been particularly good with words, and he's not fond of poetry, but what he says next is one of the most important things he ever tells Yukito. "It sounds silly, but I'm enchanted when you smile, I feel electricity when you touch me. Whenever I see you, I fall in love with something new, and there's nothing more magical than that." He rises to his feet, and two steps have him standing next to Yukito.

Yukito tilts his head as he considers what Touya just said, and the ambient light of the room reflects off his lenses. Without asking for permission, Touya removes the glasses, folding them neatly and tossing them onto the nearby night table. They're durable, he knows, and won't break by a bit of rough handling. His reaction is apparently the right one, because Yukito appears to be less troubled.

"Let me try to cast a spell on you," Yukito whispers in a husky voice, wrapping his arms around Touya's neck and pulling him close. "Let's make some magic of our own."

Touya's response, although not verbal, was definitely an affirmative.


End file.
